My first reading of Tolstoy affected me as a revelation from heaven, as the trumpet of the judgment. What he made me feel was notthe desire to imitate, but the conviction that imitation was futile.

If broken hearts could kill, the earth would be as dead as the moon.

Theories have nothing to do with life.

It is only by knowing how little life has in store for us that we are able to look on the bright side and avoid disappointment.

The truth is I've got the land on my back, an' it's drivin' me. Land is a hard driver.

Most women want their youth back again; but I wouldn't have mine back at any price. The worst years of my life are behind me, and my best ones ahead.

Pessimism is the affectation of youth, the reality of age.